Can you please share any information on SAT subject tests.
When is it recommended that a student takes Math subject tests?
There seems to be two SAT levels in Math: Math 1 and Math 2.
Do most take both the levels or do they skip Math 1 and directly take Math 2?
Best to take any subject test shortly after finishing the HS class. Good math students do not bother with Math 1, they only take Math 2.
They should be studied for. Son told us they were reviewing precalc math the fall of his AP calculus and he didn’t need to study. He was wrong. He should have studied beyond the class review even though he was an A student type (didn’t always do the work to get the top grades)and gifted. Did it matter in college admissions- perhaps he would have gotten into his dream school with a top score.
Tell your child to study for the test. This is not like the regular SAT or ACT which do not need studying for but like a final exam of subject knowledge.
@learning19 It is recommended that you take at most one of Math I/II. There isn’t much point in taking both - I only took Math II.
Math II is more advanced, but the grading curve is more lenient than Math I. That said, many students do choose to take Math I.
Whether you need to study for it or not depends on your knowledge and abilities. I didn’t need to study for Math II since I had a ton of experience with the material previously. But it is more advanced than the math sections on the current SAT. You should take Math I/II after finishing a pre-calculus course.
Assuming that one takes the subject test at the end of 11th grade:
Math level 1 is for students who have completed geometry and algebra 2 (or equivalent integrated math courses; i.e. the normal math progression that will result in completing trigonometry and precalculus in 12th grade).
Math level 2 is for students who have completed trigonometry and precalculus or higher levels of math (i.e. more advanced than the normal progression; these students can take calculus while in high school, if offered).
The best time to take Math 2 is at the end of the year in which you take precalculus.
For my daughter, this happened to be 10th grade. It would not have made sense for her to wait a year and get rusty on precalculus topics before taking the test.
As for whether to study: I think it makes sense in all cases to take a practice test to see if there are any areas where you are weak. But beyond that, it’s a matter of timing. If you will only have one opportunity to take the test, then you had better study your brains out. If you have time to retake the test if you don’t like the score you get the first time, it may be OK to take it cold.
My daughter took it once. She didn’t study. She was satisfied with her score. Sometimes you get lucky.
Take it when it’s recommended or required for college admission.
Of course, but you usually have a range of choices of dates when you can take it. Within that range, it makes sense to take it at the time when you are best prepared. There can be a big difference between the score you get if you take it in June at the end of precalculus versus taking it the next December, when you have forgotten a lot of precalculus.
If you take it unusually early, some colleges may object. In that case, you could take it again. But you may find that the colleges will not object. None of the seven colleges on my daughter’s list objected to 10th grade scores. However, decades earlier, I also had 10th grade scores, and one college on my list did object.
One other little tip: with the Math II test, pace is a huge issue. Make sure, if your kid decides to do it, that they take a decent number of timed tests. My daughter actually took it three times because she kept getting crappy scores due to being too careful and too slow and leaving too many questions undone. When she finally managed to go fast enough on her third attempt she got an 800, but even then I think she left the last 4 or 5 questions blank. One other tidbit: the Barron’s book is good for prep, but it’s like training at altitude – appreciably harder than the real thing.
My first kid took math level 2 as a sophomore and didn’t have any college object to the date.
@rayrick Second one is also taking it this spring, so thanks for the tip–insufficient time on these time-pressured tests is definitely an issue for her.
Both of my kids, who are not interested in math but are competent in it, took the Math II in the spring of their junior year. One got a 770, the other a 760, which sound pretty good, but actually only put them in the 85th percentile or so. This says a lot about the type of students taking the Math 2. These tend to be the students seriously interested in math-heavy fields. Still, if you’re looking at selective schools, it’s probably better to take Math II, even if you’re planning to study history or another humanities major.
My usual advice on testing is to prepare well and take the thing only once.
Math level 2 scores are high because of self-selection of the test takers. Every student taking that test should be good at math, since they are at least one year advanced (precalculus and trigonometry in 11th grade or earlier, instead of the usual 12th grade).
Some high end tech colleges require Math 2.
If your kid is prone to occasional errors/lapses, take Math 2. As of few years ago, you could get about 5 wrong and still get an 800. With Math 1, I believe you have to get every question correct to get an 800.
The 85th percentile of a very select group of test takers. Those scores are just fine.
From a STEM faculty member’s perspective, I just wanted to remark that the SAT Math II exam really just tests those parts of math through pre-calculus that you will continue to need if you major in practically any STEM field except for some of the biological sciences. There is actually not much that you need to worry about remembering if you are a math-y type.
Of course, there are some elements of pre-calc classes that may tend not to stick with you: e.g. some of the details of the conic sections, and some of the more obscure trig identities. Those have not appeared on SAT Math II in my experience.
A student should be fine taking SAT Math II even if the student takes the exam junior year, after completing Pre-Calc in 8th grade–what it covers, you really need to know actively for many STEM majors. Also, you probably need to know it at close to SAT speed.
Sorry to be somewhat of a curmudgeon here, but the science and math classes in college will often involve math (including proofs) that require a student to draw on prior knowledge to follow a lecture quickly–or else, to take excellent notes, and go over the material carefully until it makes sense.
If a student is just taking SAT Math II to have another SAT II notch on the belt for an application, it doesn’t matter. On the other hand, if a student intends to major in engineering, math, physics, or chemistry, it would really be a good idea to have the SAT II Math II at the next-to-instinctive level. If you intend a major in one of those fields, and something on the SAT Math II stumps you, you should probably talk with an adult in a STEM field–one who actually uses math day-to-day. The person may be able to suggest a better approach to learning the subject so that it does stick with you.
Finally, no one who has a good math background that runs through pre-calculus should be scared away from Math II. This especially goes for girls, who may tend to underestimate their mathematical capability.